In the oil and gas exploration and production industry there is often a requirement to secure a length of bore-lining tubing to an existing section of tubing. One such arrangement is known as a hanger, and is used to, for example, suspend a section of liner to the lower end of an existing section of casing. Conventional liner hangers employ mechanical slips and the like, however more recent proposals have described the creation of hangers by expanding the upper end of a liner into engagement with the surrounding casing, as described in WO00/37772, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
It is amongst the objectives of embodiments of the present invention to provide an alternative method and apparatus for creating a liner hanger, and to provide a tubing expansion tool.
It is amongst further objectives of embodiments of the invention to provide alternative methods and apparatus for deforming objects downhole.